Last Known Location

LAST KNOWN LOCATION EVA MACKENZIE Last Known Location Copyright © 2022 by Amber Craven All rights reserved. Visit my website at www.Evamackenzie.site No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or, if an actual place, are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishment, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. Published by Craven Ink Press PO Box 3081 Warrenton, VA 20188 ISBN: 978-1-7333939-8-0 E-book ISBN: 978-1-7333939-9-7 Paperback Editors: Sandra Haven, Lisa Gilliam and Victory Editing Cover design: Bookscovered For the obsessed. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul. Pablo Neruda CONTENTS 1. Gwen2. Gwen3. Gwen4. Charlie5. Gwen6. Gwen7. Charlie8. Drew9. Gwen10. Charlie11. Gwen12. Drew13. Charlie14. Gwen15. Gwen16. Charlie17. Drew18. Charlie19. Gwen20. Gwen21. Charlie22. Drew23. Gwen24. Gwen25. Drew26. Gwen27. Charlie28. Gwen29. Gwen30. Drew31. Charlie32. Gwen33. Drew34. Gwen35. Gwen36. Gwen37. Drew38. Gwen39. Gwen40. Drew41. Gwen42. Gwen43. Gwen44. Gwen45. Drew46. Gwen47. Drew48. Gwen49. Drew50. Gwen51. Gwen52. Drew53. Gwen54. Gwen55. Drew56. Gwen57. Gwen58. Drew59. GwenThanks for readingAbout the AuthorAlso by Eva Mackenzie ONEGWEN The smell of rotten flesh swelled to her nose before Gwen saw it. There, lying in a bed of fallen branches, half-hidden in the wind-scattered leaves over its bloodstained fur, its beady eyes stared back at her. How had it died? Her eyes searched beyond the animal to the bare path leading to Adam’s house. Its hollow windows filled with shadows from the ebbing daylight, and its slate-gray frame sat silent under an overcast sky. His truck’s tracks slithered down the gravel drive toward the road, confirming he wasn’t home. Anger flared, refusing to be ignored. Her eyes flicked from his house to hers—a small two-story cabin partway up the mountain a half mile from Cedar Lake. She had grown up in that same house. She enjoyed the uncomplicated way nature thrived and shifted but never really changed. She could count on the seasons turning, though not at precisely the same time each year. As reliable as anything, she knew the sounds could be identified by her experience in these woods, though not identical. The snap of a twig under a predator’s feet or the scatter of birds bursting from a tree. Everything was alive with energy—full of promise. Unlike people. They were rogue, unpredictable creatures who only hurt you. She turned back to study the tiny gray tongue that jutted out between sharp teeth, an unknowable expression on its frozen face. This message was worse than the other things her neighbor had done to gain her attention over the past several months. She needed to remind herself whom she was dealing with and how dangerous he was. How, only a week ago, she had almost killed him. She hadn’t planned to be trapped under the bed that night. While pinned to the floor with fear, she’d known she could be the victim of the twisted situation or the survivor. Her breath became shallow as she recalled the knife’s feel in her hand, slick with sweat, as she hid under the bed. She heard the scream of the wood floors as his footsteps advanced closer, the creak of the springs as his weight settled over her turned face, and how she sensed him sagging closer to her goosefleshed skin. Her hands twitched with the desire to cover her ears from the horrible sound echoing in the room. Her lungs burned as she held her breath, waiting for him to fall asleep or leave. When she was at her most vulnerable, she planned her attack if need be—in her mind as she lay paralyzed on the floor of the small bedroom. It would take only a quick knife thrust to his gut, and then she could race to the nearest door to escape his fury. She shook herself loose from the memory. It was okay—she was okay now. And she hadn’t had to use the knife that now rested in the nightstand next to her bed. But she recognized the paranoia creeping over her, a lingering consequence of his actions, causing her to be hypervigilant of him. Expecting his next move. She wanted to believe this animal dragged its failing body to the yard’s edge under its own waning power, but she didn’t. Someone had put it there for her to find. A message. As if he didn’t send enough other messages. Communication meant to intimidate and humiliate her. That morning his naked silhouette stretched in front of the bay window of his cabin as he rolled away from Vivian—his newest fling and one of Gwen’s coworkers. He had smiled wide as he looked up at her house—taunting her. The only reason he was dating Vivian was to punish Gwen. Was that why he had made a point to expose himself—naked and sated? He wanted her to see them, to punish her for leaving him. She stalked back to her open garage to retrieve a trash bag and shovel. Obviously she should just bury the creature. Still, she couldn’t tolerate that he would do something like this to an animal just to upset her. A few minutes later, she shoved the spade under the lifeless form, and its soft fur shook. Carefully she dropped it into the bag and choked it closed with her fist; its rot still lingered in the cool air. She let out a breath as she looked past the trees down to his cabin. He wasn’t home yet—he wouldn’t be until at least five, and she would be on her way to work by then. Her weight shifted